Today we begin again the 40 day journey of Lent. If we are attentive to it, that journey may prove to be a spiritually profitable one, a gratifying one, in fact. For we know how it ends. It ends in Easter joy. It ends in plentiful redemption in the blood that will be shed. It ends in joy for all the members in the sorrows of the head.
But that’s a ways off. That’s some 40 days away. Now is the day of the lord, as the prophet Joel tells us. Now is the time for the trumpet in Zion to sound and the fast to begin. A time for all to gather together – the aged, the children, even infants at the breast, the bride and bridegroom, the priests and ministers of the Lord – all come together in solemn assembly. And together, the congregation is sanctified.
Joel calls together the entire nation of Israel, so that as a nation, they may repent of their sins, and as a gathered people, as a community, they can be saved. The Apostle Paul has a similar communal focus. He says to the Corinthians, ‘We work together with him’ that is, with God. We work together -- with one another and with God – in the work of reconciliation.
We often think of Lenten journeys as individual journeys. Sojourns we make into ourselves to look at our own sinfulness and our own need for God’s mercy. And that approach is a very valid and often a very fruitful one. But we are reminded today/this evening by the prophet Joel and the Apostle Paul that the goal of that journey is to be brought closer together. We seek redemption for our sins so that we can be in harmony with one another and in deeper communion with God.
Last summer, the theme of our General Convention was Ubuntu, a word and concept that comes from the Bantu languages of Southern Africa. Our presiding bishop said the term means simply, “I am because we are, and I can only become a whole person in relationship with others.”
We journey together through Lent as a pilgrim people, as a church and community united in seeking a deeper relationship with God and a stronger relationship with each other, and with all humanity. It can seem like a very tall order: to seek to be in harmony and in right relationship with all the world. I sometimes find it difficult to be in right relationship with just the people on the same subway car with me – my heart would be rid of much sin if everyone would just step all the way into the car and stop blocking the doors on the 2 train!
Luckily, the vision of God is much wider than our own individual viewpoints. I might seek a less crowded commute, but God seeks something broader, something wider, something more complete. In our gospel today, Jesus warns us against practicing our piety in such a way that others see us at it. Rather than practicing our piety in public, and hiding our sinfulness, better we should confess our sinfulness to one another as well as to God. Better we should allow ourselves to be seen by each other and to be known by one another completely – in our sinfulness, in our shortcomings, in our great and unending need for God’s grace and and mercy. After all, we are all alike in this respect. We are all sinners, we are all in need of repentance and renewal, we are all in need of redemption.
Speaking of tall orders, there’s one for you! Your entire creation, all your children, in constant and on-going need of your love and redemption. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it? But the love of God is broader than the measure of our minds. And there is room enough in God’s wide mercy for all of us, for all our sins and failings. When I remember that, the subway car doesn’t seem quite so crowded after all.
As we begin these 40 days of Lent, plan your journey as you would any other – with an eye to your ultimate destination. That destination is a place of greater communion with God and with God’s people. Take the route that brings you closer to your fellow travelers and you will find yourself closer to God as well. Seek the Lord while he wills to be found, and call upon him and he – and we – will draw near.
Amen+
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